Police: 'Red Rum' killed rocker - UPI Archives (original) (raw)

NEW YORK, July 15 -- The heroin that killed a backup member of the Smashing Pumpkins rock band is 70 to 80 percent pure and is gaining in popularity now that its potency has been demonstrated with deadly consequence, police said. New York police Capt. Dennis McCarthy said the heroin purchased by backup keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin sells under the brand name 'Red Rum' -- or murder spelled backwards. Red Rum, which first appeared on New York streets three months ago, is extra pure because it's not meant to be injected, he said. 'People have gone from shooting heroin -- primarily from fear of the AIDS epidemic and needles -- to snorting. And in order to snort heroin you have to use a higher proof to get the desired high.' But police said that Melvoin and Chamberlin did not snort the powdered drug; they injected it in a room at the posh Regency hotel on Park Avenue on Friday morning. Both passed out, and Melvoin, 34, died. Chamberlin, who is one of the founding members of the popular Chicago-based alternative group, was charged with misdemeanor drug possession. 'Were you to shoot that level of heroin, you would certainly OD, which is what happened in this particular case,' McCarthy said, adding that heroin meant to be injected is typically 40 percent pure. Asked why Melvoin died while Chamberlin regained consciousness, McCarthy said, 'Every individual has a different capacity to absorb whatever they throw into their body, and I guess he wasn't able to deal with it as well as the other individual.'

McCarthy said that a result of publicity about musician's death, more people are asking for Red Rum by name at a drug supermarket on the Lower East Side, which he described as the 'heroin capital of New York City, maybe the world.' 'Now they know that the purity's pretty good,' he said of the brand, which derives its name from the horror movie, 'The Shining,' starring Jack Nicholson. Six people were arrested for heroin sales over the weekend. Three of them were caught with Red Rum, McCarthy said.